Monday, 15 June 2009

As a huge lover of sushi, I am always on the hunt for all-you-can-eat offers which allow me to eat truckloads at a time. Unfortunately in London these are few and far between- the Hi Sushi chain fills a hole, although mainly with salmon and not much else-unlike Malaysia where lavish Japanese buffets are all the rage. As such, I was uber excited to discover upon some Google research that there was apparently a place called Ginnan in Angel with an all-you-can-eat deal on Mondays between 7pm-8.30pm for £15.50, consisting of various maki, nigiri, katsu, noodles and rice.

Now as far as I'm concerned, all-you-can-eat automatically implies a buffet-style service where all the food is spread out for you to help yourself (or at least, unlimited orders you can make from a list). Not so with Ginnan; what they actually mean is that they will serve you the food omakase style, course-by-course in a set order. For us who went there primarily for sushi, this meant over an hour of sitting impatiently, getting increasingly annoyed, as they brought us plate after plate of food we didn't want before the sushi finally made an appearance. It was obviously structured to save the restaurant money: fill the customer up with lots of cheaper carbohydrates so that they're no longer hungry by the time the more expensive stuff comes!

To be fair, I believe if Ginnan had described this offer more accurately as a course-by-course sampling of Japanese cuisine rather than a buffet we would have enjoyed it more. The hot food, despite us not really wanting it, was tasty all round and the sushi fresh and delicious when it eventually arrived (although again, somewhat limited in variety). And whilst one waitress was moody and seemed indifferent to our presence, we were pacified slightly in the end when another nicer one obliged with several more plates of nigiri and maki upon demand, even beyond 8.30pm.

Whether or not Ginnan's buffet is good value depends entirely on what you are looking for. If all you desire is a hot dinner that's filling and tasty, then Ginnan could be your thing. If however, like me sushi is your priority, then my advice would be to steer clear and go elsewhere for your fix.

7.30pm- We happily munch on the edamame and salad with tasty goma (sesame) dressing brought to our table

About Me

Malaysian self-taught cook, food blogger, private caterer and general glutton. Born and raised in Petaling Jaya, I started cooking when I moved to England as a teenager and wanted authentic Malaysian food on a budget. Sam Tan's Kitchen was officially born in 2009 in my East London flat, and after a 3 year stint in NYC, I am now based in LA :)
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Thank you for visiting and happy eating!:)